Historic Roads

Before highways and interstates and really even cars, the prominent roads

Indian trails

red banks trace trail articlet 5/20/1928 to princeton vincennes to henderson high ridges 8/12/1965 ep - Red Banks Trace Mystery Unfolds red banks,ky (henderson) to vincennes territorial capital later state road * old state road * BNH - 1/4 w of Darmstadt Rd * st Joseph rd (ave?) - 1/4 mi south of Mill Rd * IN 66 - 100 e of mesker park dr [1965] * mesker park dr (100 ft south of Memorial Park) * red bank rd (intersection of broadway (white school) stage coach route state road contract to carry mail cut by buffalo then used by indians then by white settlers markers dedicated 8/20/1966 founders of cythiana took route claims overpass on 64 (st wendel-cynthiana rd) was part of trail??? starting from henderson running up the river to about Union-Perry Twp line, then north (west of evansville) princeton then vincennes yellow banks trail started from Ohio River at rockport and ran north (spencer) selvin yellow banks trace buffalo trace a really good source for indiana transportation history blog https://intransporthistory.home.blog/ https://ia800205.us.archive.org/27/items/earlyindianatrai63wils/earlyindianatrai63wils.pdf pg 23 and 54

Country Roads

Country roads were established routes that connected to other nearby towns and communities. They were casually named after where the road led (i.e. New Harmony Road, Owensville Road) but later officially adopted the name. These county roads left Evansville like the spokes of a wheel headed in all directions. They followed along ridges and other natural features and are usually easily identified by their curvy routes.

Along these roads, travelers would find stagecoach stops where they could board for the night and find a meal. Several of these building out in the county survived as taverns or restaurants which is why some of them still bear the name "inn" though they no longer offer overnight accommodations. Others, such as the Five Mile House, literally spelled out their distance from Evansville so travelers had an idea of how far to go before the days of GPS.

See these routes on a current map [BETA].

STREET	DETAILS
State Road / Stringtown Road	The original route into Evansville via Main St. it was a state road because Some older maps also label it as Vincennes State Road or Princeton Road because it followed north to the old capital of Indiana Territory. Other towns along its route included Saundersville, Warrenton, Ft Branch? Haubstadt? Before North Main was diverted it formed a straight line with stringtown Road the segment from town to Stringtown. As the city grew the connection to Main St was chipped away and stringtown now starts where garvin and governor split and Main St now diverts to the North Main. for a time was plank road from columbia riverfront to pigeon creek. toll gate at poor farm at Columbia abandoned c1852 also built during civil war had to cross the pigeon creek bottoms near negleys mill / stringtown bridge Traces of the road connecting to Stringtown or Mechanicsburgh are now gone It was part of the Dixie Bee Line Highway / US 41 when the thoroughfare was first established (ep 2/4/34+map) van dusens mill
Boonville Road / Newburgh Road	Lincoln Ave east toward Newburgh and onward to Boonville [WARRICK CO]. The present-day Newburgh Rd splits off Lincoln just past Fielding Rd, continues southeast merging with Covert Ave / IN 662, and eventually enters downtown Newburgh via Main St / Jennings St. Travelers would then continue north on State St and then onto Old Plank Rd to get to Boonville. A northerly route to Boonville would be built later that followed the canal / railroad (see below).
New Harmony Road	Northwest through Kasson, Parker's Settlement, Blairsville, Wadesville, and ultimately New Harmony [POSEY CO]. The route originally started from Babytown and was later designated IN 66. The segment from Harmony Way was bypassed c1936, and the highway was completely rerouted in 1970, though the old New Harmony Rd still remains.
Big Cynthiana Road	Northwest from Kasson to the town of Cynthiana [POSEY CO]. It was later designated IN 65. The road was later cut off when the Diamond Ave Bypass rerouted IN 66
Little Cynthiana Road	Northwest from St Joseph Ave. The road passed by Mesker Park and was later renamed in its entirety Mesker Park Dr. It meets up with Big Cynthiana Rd just north of Cynthia Heights and continues to the town of Cynthiana [POSEY CO]
St. Joseph Road	North then east from New Harmony Rd toward the community of St Joseph.
St. Wendel Road	Splits off Cynthiana Rd / IN 65 northwest to the community of St. Wendel.
Owensville Road	Northwest off Baseline Rd (near Hornville) to the town of Owensville [GIBSON CO] (hard time connecting)
Upper Mt Vernon Road	West (via a northerly route) toward the town of Mt. Vernon [POSEY CO]. Road starts from Franklin St / Mt Vernon Ave, continues to St Philips, and merges with Blackford Rd / Tile Factory Rd into Mt. Vernon.
Middle Mt Vernon Road	West (via a central route) toward the town of Mt. Vernon [POSEY CO]. Road starts off Broadway Ave / Lower Mt Vernon Rd and continues to Caborn [POSEY CO] but have a hard time connecting the entire way.
Lower Mt Vernon Road	West (via a southerly route) toward the town of Mt. Vernon [POSEY CO]. The road started from Howell and was later designated IN 62. A more direct highway was built c1928, and Broadway Ave became the official route. Where Old Mt Vernon Rd splits off is the original road which continues on until it reconnects with the main road just east of Mt. Vernon.
West Franklin Road	South off Lower Mt Vernon Rd toward the river community of West Franklin [POSEY CO]. (Smith Diamond Rd renamed later?) Another segment in Posey County with the same name heads south from IN 62 to the same destination.
Green River Rd	Riverside Dr turned into Green River Rd which headed southeast to where the Green River flowed into the Ohio River. This closely aligned with E Riverside and some sections of Old Green River Rd are still in the river bottoms. When the present Green River Rd first appeared it was New Green River Rd. Another map still shows Green River Road coming from a northerly direction see 1873
Boonville Highway	As Evansville grew, a more northerly route to Boonville was sought. (virginia/oak hill?) The road left Evansville east from Morgan Ave, continued to Theater Dr, and connected with the Old Boonville Highway as it headed to Chandler and then on to Boonville. It was later designated IN 62 and would eventually be rerouted for a more direct route. tied to railroad (1873)? built >1868 < 1876 (in atlas)
Petersburg Road	From Stringtown, northeast through McCutchanville, Mackey, Oakland City, and on to Petersburg [PIKE CO]. It was cut off by the Evansville airport c1930 and when IN 57 was built it bypassed most of the road within Vanderburgh Co.
Darmstadt Road	North beyond First Ave to the town of Darmstadt.
Princeton Road	Splits off Darmstadt Rd and continues through Haubstadt, Ft. Branch, and ends in Princeton (after traction line?)
Boonville-New Harmony Road	Traversed northern part of the county parallel to Evansville. The road dates back to 1820-1 and connected Boonville [WARRICK CO] to New Harmony [POSEY CO] (trouble following west of St Wendel?). Purportedly went through Saundersville

Originally the country roads were dirt pathways. One of first improvements were plank roads. Trails would get muddy and become impassable, so wooden planks were placed atop the road to help with traction. The result would be a smooth ride similar to a boardwalk. However, plank roads often did not wear well and required continual maintenance. Some had toll buildings along them that charged for passage. Later, many of these thoroughfares were also some of the first roads to get paved. They also had other improvements such as grading or slight reroutes (avoid sharp curves, changes to an intersection, etc). Over the years, most of the country roads are generally the same, but bypasses or newer highways have taken the traffic off some of them.

Section Line Roads

Other historic roads include those that were laid along section lines. Under the Public Land Survey System, the government divided land into sections, or square miles. These sections were then gridded into a system seen in many older maps and are still used when identifying property.

Section lines often doubled as property lines and were ideal locations to place roads. These roads were often named after the owner of the property at the corner or intersection where the road ended/began. Other times, major corridors in the Evansville area were simply extended as the city grew keeping the traditional grid layout. Regardless, these roads are easily identified because they run east-west or north-south on the section lines, and sometimes their midpoints.

Some examples include Washington Ave, Boeke Rd, Green River Rd, Burkhardt Rd, Pollack Ave, Vann Ave, Seminary Rd, Allen's Ln, Base Line Rd, Heppler Rd, Neu Rd just to name a few.

Auto Trails

With the popularity of the automobile in the early 1900s, auto trails were marked routes to help guide travelers. They were the forerunners of today's state highways connecting the dots between towns. Often times, auto trails had a badge or colored band that was posted on utility poles along the route. Guide books and sometimes newspaper articles would also spell out the directions "turn left" or "continue three miles."

Auto clubs or other private organizations were formed to promote these roads. All of a sudden, there was a race to create faster and safer travel. While the auto trails help spur road improvements such as paving and more direct routes, they were truly designed for tourism and to bring visitors to the towns they passed through. In the same way railroads put towns on the map and being excluded could seal a town's fate, the same could be said of the roads.

Dixie Bee

1915 The Dixie Bee Line, extending from Chicago down the edge of Illinois, entering Indiana near Danville, Ill., going through Clinton and Terre Haute, and leaving at Evansville to cross Kentucky and Tennessee to Florida. Thoroughly marked and re-marked by the H.S.A.A. The old state road adopted by US-41 osr 10 stayed in indiana whereas dixie bee split off and headed to Danville IL

TOWN	ROUTE
Henderson [KY]	Crosses into Union Twp via Henderson Ferry
Evansville	Left town via Old State Rd
*Warrenton	Followed US 41 / Main St
Princeton	Followed IN 62
*Patoka	Followed Old US 41
*Hazelton
Vincennes	Followed Old US 41 / US 41
*Oaktown	Followed US 41 / Business 41
*Carlisle	Followed Old 41
*Paxton	Followed Old 41 (later bypassed)
*Sullivan	Followed US 41 (later bypassed)
Terre Haute	Followed US 41
Clinton
*Newport
*Cayuga
Danville [IL]	joins with Dixie Highway

See the Dixie Bee Line on a current map [BETA]. ^{+ Show research notes}

• https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~201714~3000671:AutoTrails-Map,-Missouri,-Arkansas,
• https://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15078coll8/id/2943
• dedication stone https://digital.evpl.org/digital/collection/p16848coll1/id/2238/

Market Highway / French Lick Rd

French Lick Route, Cincinnati to Evansville by way of Aurora, Versailles, North Vernon, Seymour, Brownstown, Bedford, Paoli, French Lick, Jasper, Huntingburg, and Boonville. Marked by the automobile association from the Ohio line to French Lick; is not marked from there to Evansville due to the unsatisfactory condition of the road at the time of route was established. This part of the route is now under construction by the state highway commission.

TOWN	ROUTE
Evansville	Left town off Dixie Bee / via Morgan Ave
Boonville	Followed Old Boonville Highway
Gentryville	Followed IN 62
Huntingburg	Followed IN 62 to Dale and then US 231
Jasper	Followed US 231
French Lick	Followed ? IN 56
West Baden	Followed IN 56
Paoli	Followed US 150

opened 1921 (paved) 12/9/21 ej+pic osr4 evansville to boonville (new hwy) to gentryville, to huntingburg (huntingburg ->Jasper->French LIck->West Baden->Paoli would remain os4)

See this route on a current map [BETA].

The Loop

The Loop Road auto trail, often just called "The Loop," was a scenic route around the north side of Evansville that became popular when cars became mainstream. The leisurely 19-mile journey first shows up as far back as 1906 and references to it are found as late as 1936.

The Loop left town north on Stringtown Rd cut across Campground Rd jogged at First Ave and returned via Kratzville Rd. to us41 / co infirmary? It passed notable landmarks Rose Hill Cemetery, Country Club, and Locust Hill Cemetery When the Princeton traction line was extended it also passed laubscher's station

See this route on a current map [BETA]. ^{+ Show research notes}

• detailed article 8/16/1906
• article 7/23/1911

Hoosier Highway

The Hoosier Highway, extending from Detroit to Memphis, crossing Indiana by way of Fort Wayne, Bluffton, Huntington, Muncie, Anderson, Martinsville, Spencer, Worthington, Washington, Petersburg, Oakland City, Princeton and Evansville. First marked by the Hoosier association with a red “H” on a white background and now remarked with a black “H” on a white background. Northern half of route just repainted. A road from Detroit to Evansville. In Vanderburgh same as Dixie Bee / OSR10. Connected to Princeton then east oakland city winslow petersburgh washington indianapolis fort wayne and beyond Picnic to promote road held in washington oct 1920 including push for Ohio River bridge mar 9 1920 article ej map

TOWN	ROUTE
Henderson [KY]	Crosses into Union Twp via Henderson Ferry
Evansville	Left town via Old State Rd
*Warrenton	Followed US 41 / Main St
Princeton	Followed IN 64
Francisco	Roughly IN 64
Oakland City	roughly IN 64 / IN 61
Winslow	roughly IN 56
Petersburg	Follows roughly IN 61
Washington	OSR 28 OSR 4 OSR 12(IN54) switz city bloomfield IN 57 / IN 67
Worthington	Roughly follows US 231 / IN 67
Spencer	Roughly follows US 231 / IN 67
Martinsville	Roughly follows IN 67 / Kentucky Ave
Indianapolis	Follows Massachusetts Ave / US-36 / IN 234 / IN 9
Anderson	Follows IN 32
Muncie	Roughly follows IN 3 / Hoosier Highway
Bluffton	Follows IN 1
Fort Wayne	Follows IN 37 / OH 2
Bryan [OH]	Follows OH 2
Adrian [MI]	Roughly follows US-127 / OH 66 / MI 52
Ypsilanti [MI]	Roughly follows MI 52 / Macon Hwy / US-12
Detroit [MI]	Follows US-12 / Business US-12

There is still a small segment between Muncie and Bluffton still named Hoosier Highway today

See this route on a current map [BETA].

Kiwani's Trail (1922 / 1934)

Kiwanis auto trail to promote evansville landmarks and drive the town Kiwnanis Trail - vand co points (blue K on white) contest apr 1922, marked mid june 14 mi expanded by 1924 to 27 mi

TOWN	ROUTE
Auto Club office	McCurdy Hotel (1st and locust)
Riverside Dr	Sunset Park (right)
Park Lane
Sunset Ave
Adams Ave
Riverside Ave
Howard St
2nd st
madison ave
linwood ave
Ravenswood Dr
Akin Dr
Madison
Kentucky Ave
Washington
Lombard
Lincoln

woodmere, evansville college, Memorial Little Sisters of the Poor altered slightly and shortened to about 22 mi in 1934

^{+ Show research notes}

• detailed article 7/31/1923 ep lists route
• ep 9/11/24 list more points of interest
• ep 5/10/25 list more points of interest

See this route on a current map [BETA].

Wonderland Way

stl to cincinnati maps only show new albany to corydon to paoli no maps show it coming through evansville but seems to approximate IN 62 ohio river scenic byway https://www.ohioriverbyway.com/

Hemenway Highway

evansville to french lick hwy 16, hwy 18, and highway 40 c1924 through boonville, dale, huntingburg to french lick Named after james hemenway of boonville a good roads booster white bg with HH in black

State Routes

With the formation of the Indiana State Highway Commision, the state sought to establish some cohesion to roads across the area. Most were nicknamed https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/numbers.cfm FRom Names to Numbers - origins of the us numbered highway system. in depth on the issues with nicknames as well as many rules that defined a new numbering convention still used today 1917/9 ISHC formed 1-5 1919 formed 6-10 1923 given numbers 1-55 1926 great renumbering 10/1/1926 https://intransporthistory.home.blog/2019/04/30/the-great-renumbering/ State Highway 10 - Evansville north Dixie Bee > Princeton, Hazelton, Vincennes, Terre Haute State Highway 16 - Originally State Highway 4 Evansville to boonville (market highway) c1925 connection from Gentryville to Leavenwoth connected with the e Route 16 enter at morgan ave (rear of oak hill cemter) and meet dixie bee at ross and morgan, ross to columbia, columbia to rose, rose to virginia, virginia to First, first to franklin, franklin to st joe, st joe to penn, penn to barker, barker to boradway to mt vernon state road 16 = market highway to dale becomes sr 62 mt vernon west to wabash river / IL was added 1929

A renumbering in 1926 saw the adoption of north-south routes having odd numbers and east-west routes having even numbers. It was at this point most of the State Roads adopted the current numbers (see 10-28-23) https://www.in.gov/indot/resources/historic-maps/

Highway 69 (65 from 1926 to >1928) OSR 20 mv to nh to owensville (1923-26) poseyville and owensville
• Highway 62 - osr 16 renamed 1926 to 62 new albany to mt vernon / wabash river. passes through corydon leavenworth, st meinrad, lincoln city, gentryville, boonville and evansville (wonderland way? = yankeetown mt carmel to cynthiana poeyville aka newburgh rd (not lower)) (barker ave from penn to broadway in howell) 62 west? mt vernon to evv opened may 1 1928 paved broadway (pic ej 5/2/28) broadway (lower mt vernon rd) c1922 originall gentryville -> santa claus to st Meinrad would later skip santa clause and head through dale 1929
• Highway 66 (1926) - evv to rockport (newburgh, yankeetown, and hatfield) what about west section adopted 1930 20 mi to new harmony "new" aka harmony way?
• Highway 65 (<1930) - From Kasson to Cynthiana
• highway 57 (c1928) - "short route" to indy only built to about oakland City (paved to near elberfield) 1932, petersburg to wash planned 1932

1920 Auto Trails Map 1918 - Southern Indiana Road and Highway Map https://intransporthistory.home.blog/